Fight the war on cancer

VCU’s Massey Cancer Center leads way on path to providing new treatments, finding a cure

To fight a cancer epidemic that killed an estimated 560,000 people last year, it takes an integrated national effort — an effort that Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center, as one of only 63 National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Centers in the country, is helping to lead and shape.

With the $43.5 million, 80,000-square-foot Goodwin Research Laboratory, funded in part by a generous gift from William H. and Alice T. Goodwin, the Massey Cancer Center is doing its part to fight the war on cancer.

The state-of-the-science building is quickly attracting top cancer researchers to the university and Massey, said Dr. Steven Grant, who is the Shirley Carter and Sture Gordon Olsson Professor of Oncology, associate director for translational research and co-leader of the Cancer Cell Biology Program at Massey Cancer Center. An accomplished cadre of researchers has already started work in the building, which also features a 3,000-square-foot healing garden.

“The Goodwin Research Laboratory has allowed the Massey Cancer Center to concentrate, in one geographic location, a significant number of cancer researchers with common interests in developing new understandings of and treatment approaches for various forms of cancer,” Grant said. “Aside from providing shared core equipment that will benefit these researchers enormously, the proximity of researchers within the Goodwin laboratory will foster cross-fertilization of ideas, which will hopefully lead to important breakthroughs.”

Fellow researcher Dr. Andrew C. Larner is a new addition to the Massey staff. The Goodwin Research Laboratory was a factor in his decision to join the VCU faculty, Larner said.

“The cancer center is the ideal environment to facilitate the exchange of ideas between investigators for cancer therapies,” said Larner, who also holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology. “This facility is uniquely designed to allow for maximum interactions between basic scientists who are interested in understanding cell growth and transformation and clinicians who can use the results of the studies conducted in the lab to treat patients with cancer.”

Larner emphasized the need for private support, especially when dealing with a killer like cancer.

“Novel approaches to research, especially high-risk research, which can result in major breakthroughs, are not well-funded by standard sources like the National Institutes of Health,” Larner said. “Funds from private donations can allow scientists to explore new areas and to develop novel approaches to understanding basic biological questions. The information from these studies can then be translated to patient care. High-risk experiments can be undertaken more expeditiously and with greater chances of significant success from private donations.”

Luring such accomplished physicians and researchers as Grant and Larner is proof that the Massey Cancer Center is making a difference in the fight against cancer, said Dr. Gordon Ginder, director of Massey Cancer Center.

“The Campaign for Massey helped elevate us to a new level by providing the funding and facilities necessary to support the extraordinary research of nationally recognized scientists like Drs. Grant and Larner,” Ginder said.